Winter Backpacking Clinic

Winter Backpacking Clinic

I had the opportunity to meet one of my personal heroes last night.  I attended a Winter Backpacking Clinic hosted by Andrew Skurka, at the Colorado Mountain Club headquarters in Golden.  Andrew has been described by National Geographic as "a superman among trekkers" and Outside magazine named him Adventurer of the Year in 2010.  He's become famous for his extraordinary long-distance through hikes, including the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails as well as a 4,700-mile Alaska-Yukon expedition.  He is also the author of National Geographic's The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide.

The clinic was excellent.  Especially for someone that is fairly new to winter backpacking.  I usually take my backpacking trips in the summer and reserve winter for skiing/snowboarding.   His presentation was extremely informative and very insightful.  Andrew walked through his methodical trip planning process in detail and explained all the gear systems that we would need to make winter time backpacking more comfortable and safe. He went over all of the various systems that he uses explaining when you would use each piece and when you should leave it at home.  He went over several gear options and explained the advantages and disadvantages of each.

I left the clinic with more confidence to do more human powered back-country recreation during the winter months and maybe not so much riding the lifts at the expensive resorts.  I also left with a personalized, autographed copy of Andrew's book.

Thanks Andrew, it was very nice meeting you.